The Paris Club at 50: Solution to the Debt Problem or Symbol of it?
| 08/18/06
Francesco Oddone
The Paris Club celebrated its 50th anniversary in July 2006. This is a suitable opportunity for rich creditor governments to acknowledge the deeply rooted ethical shortcomings of the present international debt architecture that stand in the way of justice and development.

Background Papers on Ethics and Debt
| 01/16/06
Christian Barry,
Barry Herman
Herman's "The Players and the Game of Sovereign Debt" describes arrangements that guide the interactions of actors involved in this issue. Barry's "Ethical Issues Relevant to Debt" discusses some of the principled disagreements underlying present disputes about sovereign debt resolution.

Is the G8 Dealing Justly with Debt?
| 07/07/05
Lydia Tomitova
The offer by the G8 to cancel the debts of some of the world's poorest countries is a welcome step forward. Yet, referring to it as 100 percent debt cancellation is misleading since the deal, despite its promise to cancel significant amounts, is far from a comprehensive solution.

Feasible Additional Sources of Finance for Development
| 05/29/03
The conference considers possibilities of additional sources of finance either for disposition through multilateral agencies or bilateral aid for global priorities, or as additional own resources for developing countries.

Response to "Dealing Justly with Debt"
| 02/21/03
Lex Rieffel
The IMF may sometimes prescribe the wrong medicine to countries experiencing a financial crisis. Right now, the IMF’s support for the Lula government in Brazil is looking pretty good. By contrast, the medicine Mr. Barry proposes to cure Brazil’s debt problem looks more like snake oil.

Dealing Justly with Debt
| 01/05/03
Christian Barry
On October 27, 2002, former factory worker Luis Inácio Lula da Silva (popularly known as “Lula”) achieved a landslide victory in the Brazilian presidential election. His platform included pledges to lower Brazil’s domestic interest rates (which, at 21%, remain among the highest in the world), revive national industry, invest in public infrastructure, and establish a “zero-hunger” program that will include food stamps for the poor.